This invention relates to a simplified attachment system for a feminine hygiene pad or adult absorbent napkin, or the like.
Feminine sanitary napkins and adult incontinent pads come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, however, all generally employ a liquid impermeable barrier sheet coated or supplied with an adhesive attachment region(s). This adhesive is invariably protected by a release liner prior to attachment of the sanitary napkin or incontinent pad to the fabric undergarment of the user. This adhesive attachment region is conventionally a hot-melt coated adhesive which is coated onto a release liner immediately prior to application of the adhesive coated liner to the liquid impermeable barrier sheet. This adhesive then transfers from the release liner onto the barrier sheet. The release liner is left in place to protect the adhesive from contamination or from transfer to adjacent incontinent pads or sanitary napkins or packaging materials in the package prior to use. The hot-melt coated adhesive is generally a synthetic rubber-resin type adhesive.
An alternative method would be to use a release liner having differential release coatings on both faces, which is then formed into a roll of tape. This tape could then be unwound on the production line and applied to the sanitary napkin or incontinent pad. Although this method avoids many of the problems in hot-melt coating directly on the, e.g., sanitary napkin production line, it adds to material cost.
Recently, there has been significant interest in eliminating the detachable release liner on sanitary napkins and adult incontinent pads. A considerable number of recent patents have addessed this issue. However the approaches generally proposed have also relied on use of synthetic rubber-resin type adhesives and the release liner is made an integral portion of the sanitary napkin or incontinent pad such that it would not require separate disposal. The release liner is therefore not eliminated rather made so that it does not require separate disposal. These designs demand quite complicated manufacturing techniques requiring the use of elaborate tape laminate structures, where a preformed tape is employed, or the need for elaborate tape forming and coating techniques for on-line production. The sanitary napkin, or the like, must also be precisely folded onto itself to bring the release liner into registered contact with the adhesive, adding further complications to the manufacturing process.